Duties
Conducts thorough legal research by appropriately identifying and analyzing relevant legal and factual issues and arguments. Assesses legal strengths and weaknesses of available arguments to provide accurate, complete, and practical legal advice and conclusions. Identifies and learns emerging issues, principles, and practices relevant to the legal practice area.
Reviews and analyzes enforcement investigative reports and initiates and processes legal enforcement actions for routine and progressively complex violations of statutory and regulatory safety requirements. Represents the agency in enforcement matters before the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in certificate and civil penalty actions, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Hearings on civil penalty actions.
Provides legal advice and counsel to FAA management in enforcement matters, and any and all matters within the area(s) of expertise. Reviews and analyzes issues within the practice area(s) to ensure compliance with existing laws, statutes, regulations, and agency policies.
Prepares and coordinates responses to routine requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Prepares responses to Congressional and other inquiries regarding enforcement actions.
Conducts research and discovery, and prepares motions, pre-trial memoranda of law, and post-trial briefs in enforcement proceedings. In some cases, prepares and submits administrative appeal briefs. Assists the Department of Justice with FAA enforcement actions adjudicated in U.S. District Court. Produces communications that are well-organized, clear, and persuasive.
Provides advice tailored to the client and requirements of the agency. Adjusts communications to meet audience expectations and level of understanding. Provides accurate, complete, and practical legal advice.
Produces presentations and communications that are well-organized, clear, and persuasive. Provides appropriate advice tailored to the client and requirements of the agency. Adjusts presentations, communications, and advice to meet audience expectations and level of understanding.
Applies considerable experience and advanced professional legal knowledge to assignments and performs full performance level assignments under limited direction. Performs most assignments independently and receives direction from a manager or more experienced attorney when exceptionally difficult issues are encountered. In consultation with a manager, determines tasks, deadlines, and outcomes. Based on professional knowledge, plans, and carries out assignments, resolves most conflicts, coordinates with others, and completes assignments on own initiative.
Independently plans use of time and resources to accomplish complex objectives and is expected to complete activities within established schedules and deadlines, analyze program requirements and accomplishments, and recommend adjustments needed to address program needs.
Contacts are internal and external to the organization and the agency. Contacts are with other attorneys, agency managers, aviation industry representatives, and officials of courts. Based on professional knowledge, assists with providing timely advice and counsel concerning airport and environmental law matters, agency guidance, advisory materials, and responses to requests for legal opinions and interpretations.
Work directly contributes to the success of a region, center, or program area. Work is vital to the legal programs of the organization and applicable mission areas. Work is reviewed for consistency and effectiveness in meeting requirements or satisfying expectations.
Performs other duties as assigned.
Required Documents
ALL applicants MUST submit the following:
(1) resume with complete work history;
(2) proof of active membership to the bar of any U.S. jurisdiction or within the District of Columbia. (Please provide bar association number(s) and verification of active status.);
(3) writing sample (not to exceed 10 pages in length); and
(4) copy of unofficial or official transcript from an accredited law school verifying JD degree.
Applicants who are or have been employed by the Federal Government SHOULD also upload a copy of the most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action).
For guidance on how to create a Federal resume, visit http://www.archives.gov/careers/jobs/forms/resume-guide.pdf.
Only the documents listed above will be accepted in combination with your on-line application. These documents MUST be uploaded or before the closing date of this announcement.
Failure to submit all required documents by the closing date will result in a finding of ineligible. We are not responsible for incomplete, missing or illegible documents. Please DO NOT email application documents. Documents received via email will NOT receive consideration.
This position has a positive education requirement; college transcripts are required for ALL candidates newly appointed to the FAA in the 905 series.
College transcripts must be submitted from current FAA employees applying for internal vacancies if they have never held a position in the 905 series with the FAA.
College transcripts are not required from current FAA employees who are currently occupying a 905 series.
If selected, official transcripts are required prior to employment.
If you want consideration for one or more of the Special Hiring Authorities, documentation that must be submitted at time of application can be found at
Direct Hiring Authorities | Federal Aviation Administration (faa.gov).
If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from
schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
How to Apply
Veterans' Preference:
Federal Aviation Administration attorney positions are in the excepted service. There is no formal rating system for applying veterans' preference to attorney appointments in the excepted service; however, the Federal Aviation Administration considers veterans' preference eligibility as a positive factor in the attorney hiring process. If you are eligible for veterans' preference in hiring, you are encouraged to include this information in your application along with the supporting documentation, e.g., SF-15, DD Form 214, Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty, or other supporting documents.
You must apply online to receive consideration. Your application must be submitted by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on the Close Date for it to be accepted. If you are applying for positions associated with FAA registers, your application must be submitted at the time a referral list is created in order to receive consideration for positions associated with a register.
IN DESCRIBING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE AND/OR EDUCATION, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE OR EDUCATION.We strongly encourage applicants to utilize the USAJOBS resume builder in the creation of resumes.Please ensure EACH work history includes ALL of the following information:- Job Title (include series and grade if Federal Job)
- Duties (be specific in describing your duties)
- Employer's name and address
- Supervisor name and phone number
- Start and end dates including month and year (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Salary (optional)
Determining length of General or Specialized Experience is dependent on the above information and failure to provide ALL of this information may result in a finding of ineligible.You may upload completed documents to your USAJOBS Account. This will provide you the opportunity to utilize the uploaded information again when applying for future vacancies. Please see this guide,
Document Upload Guide, for more information on uploading and re-using the documents in your applications.
Next steps
Once we receive your complete application, the Human Resources Office will conduct an evaluation of your qualifications. Eligible and qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. You will be contacted directly if selected for an interview.
For instructions on how to check the status of your application, please go to: USAJOBS Help Guide.
Important - If you make any changes to your application, you must resubmit it. If you make changes to your application and do not resubmit it, your changes will not be considered part of your application package, and only your previously submitted application will be evaluated.
All qualified applicants will be considered regardless of political affiliation, race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, disability, or other non-merit factors. DOT provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency contact listed in the Agency Contact Information section of this announcement or the hiring manager. An employee with a disability must notify the decision-maker of the accommodation request. Job applicants and employees are required to follow up oral requests in writing. Decisions on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. Additional information on reasonable accommodations procedures or on EEO Programs is available on Office of Civil Rights (ACR) or by contacting the local FAA Civil Rights Office.